Starting with Literacy, I believe I have achieved this goal really well. I have constantly put this as one of my goals, but now I feel that I have achieved it. This is simply because I tend to write different texts for my 100wc, and I even started to include some facts. There are also times at home when I would think of an idea for a piece of writing, but normally make it a narrative. Now I try to put the idea into a different type of text, and I make them different every time. For example, I could think of something very simple (on the 1st week of holidays I thought of a story about an asthmatic) but instead of making it a narrative, I chose to make it an instructional text of how to use the puffer (with my sister’s help). Sometimes I won’t finish the piece, but most of the time it’s because I don’t like the idea anymore or the genre doesn’t fit the type of text. Another way I know I have achieved this goal is that I am improving in my other types of text, especially poetry and persuasive text (which I use for debates). So I believe that since I have improved, practiced and now have a bigger interest in different types of writing, I feel that I have achieved the goal.

Next is maths, which has been the hardest goal so far. I do know how to multiply the 2 decimals, though I not very confident and I still can have trouble with the decimal point. I have been trying to achieve this goal in simple things like hotmaths and at home. Hotmaths is compulsory, and all I really do is try to answer the question that is shown. But at home, sometimes I will ask my mum for random numbers (most of the time she doesn’t know what I’m talking about) and put them into 2 decimals and try to solve the multiplication. After I’m sure with my answer, I will go onto the calculator and see whether its correct. I still get tripped up with the decimal point, and I’m still no very confident so I believe I can still improve in this goal.

My personal goal was to be more organised with my work, and I believe that has been the only goal I can say that I was already halfway there. I needed to improve on this goal, since I had a lot of books (from school and home activities) and I needed the right ones. Since I always have the right books for when I get to school to my classroom as well as completing my homework every week, I didn’t quite work on that part. I worked on being more organised in my book, so every time someone would need to look at a part, I could just point at it. Everyone uses sub headings for there book, but I used to still have to skim and scan. Now, I know the parts I will need to look at, so I make paragraphs or just on its own sentences, as well as putting astricts or stars next to it. I believe I have achieved this goal, though I will still remember to make the work inside my book as clear as possible (since there are days that I need to remind myself).

FUTURE GOALS:

I believe that I still need to work on my second goal about maths. I’m still not as confident as I hope I can be, as well as not understanding the multiplication some of the time. If I can continue with this goal till the end of the year, then I will become more confident and will not be confused about the decimals place. Also, since I haven’t completed my goal yet, I need to try to achieve it since it is a goal.

My second goal is new, and will be to work on my angles. I do know how angles work and I do know a bit about them, though the main things is I’m not confident. I do know most angles and what there are called (and their degree), but when it comes down to comparing which angles are which, I can often get confused. Therefore, if I work on this (which we will be doing in class), I feel that I will be more confident in myself, it will be less complicated to and I will solve the problem quicker. This will also make me more confident when helping other classmates in decimals, and I will have less fear that I am wrong (I still help classmates now, though I double check a lot before they believe they have the answer).

My last goal is to summarise more efficiently and to use summarising more often. Sometimes you need to get the point you’re saying across in as few words as possible, so that it’s easier to read and understand. This goal out of all 3 of mine is the one I have to work on the most, but will be the most rewarding for when I complete it (since I’m preparing for high school)

If you choose to read it as a word document, please press Enable Editing (if you don’t, the presented way it’s supposed to be won’t be shown).

Also, if you look at it on this post, you can click the pictures to make them bigger.

Landslides- How they can destroy us

Intro:

Heavy rain is pounding down as the crashing sound of a disaster fills the air. Death has its scent all over this, as person after person get trapped, and killed under the mass of rocks and dirt. A landslide is one of the natural disasters that can affect a person’s whole life, and can change it in a minute. A landslide is the movement when a mass of rock, debris or earth on a slope can no longer holds and gives way to gravity. There are different types of landslides depending on the slope angle, climate, weathering, stabilisation, water content and a few more (a landslide can either fall, topple, flow, slide, spread). Landslides occur because of its terrifying triggers (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, explosion, less deadly = soils that are filled with water, weak rock, the land arrangement, erosion, former of old landslide, vibrations of machines, vibration of traffic, deforestation, cultivation and construction). If a landslide happens underwater (submarine landslides) it can create a flood or a killer tsunami (since an earthquake triggers a landslide, the landslide would push the tsunami along faster and stronger). Lastly, landslides are prone around mountains and coastal areas. In the U.S, landslides occur in all 50 states. There are also other countries that experience this disaster, for example Alaska and Hawaii. Also, in Australia our prone areas are:

Coastal cliffs, the Great Dividing Range (along the east coast- submarine landslides), the Strzelecki and Otway Ranges (it is in southern Victoria), Mt Lofty Ranges (close to Adelaide, South Australia- volcanic eruptions), Mt Wellington (volcano eruptions), Tamar Valley, north-west coast of Tasmania, New South Wales and Victorian Alpine regions, and lastly south east of Queensland.

What humans do after a landslide?

25 to 50 humans annually die from a landslide, however the main complications that affect humans happen after the landslide.

The first thing a person will do after a landslide has occurred, is find the nearest safe shelter. Meanwhile, the population of the prone country, would listen to the radio or television announcement for updates on emergency information. Due to this fact, people will watch for signs of flooding. This is because flooding happens regularly after a landslide has taken place (if it was a submarine landslide, watch out for a tsunami). Then will also be the time to check for injured or trapped people. When directing the rescuers there to help, all humans must stay away from the area of the landslide. While all of this is taking place, the public (if they see any damaged railways, roads or utilities) will report this to authorities straight away. Then a group of people will check the land around them and assess where is safe. Lastly, the communities will replant the damaged ground so it won’t trigger any flash floods or additional landslides.

Humans after a landslide will receive goods from countries that are allies. They would receive canned food (it is canned because then it will not expire quickly), plastic water bottles (easy to transport), shelter (tents), clothes from charities and most importantly money (e.g. $1 000 000 American Red Cross gave to the 7.8 magnitude Nepal earthquake).

People in this situation do get a lot of donations, for example the Nepal Earthquake. 9 countries all sent at least 1 team of rescuers, food, medical aid, water, shelter and lastly all 9 countries (India, China, U.S.A, Canada, Israel, France, Australia, Norway and Switzerland) sent money.

Humans who have experienced a landslide, this is what happens when the volunteer groups come to help them:

Lifesaving aid will be the first action done when they get there. After a few hours of the disaster, volunteers will then be checking the level of severity and need. Within 24-72 hours, the team/s there will provide emergency reliefs and they will be making assessments. At 72 hours, supplies will be loaded, transported and handed out. By the first week, emergency aid and relief to residents affected will be provided. After a month, citizens are stabilised (temporary shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection activities, healthcare etc.).

There are a lot of organisations and volunteer websites that help these people, and this activity a lot of people happen to experience after being in a landslide (or any natural disaster). Humans volunteer to go with groups of people to help out a country in need. Charities also cooperate in helping out, for they ask and receive donations.

Once all of this has taken place, the last action humans do after a landslide has occurred is to wait. They wait to found out whether it is safe to live where their home was anymore. Humans have an expectation to listen and follow instructions given to help them, as they have the right to be affected physically or mentally after.

How humans are affected:

Humankind can be affected in 2 different ways, physically and/or mentally. Physically, landslides can block roads, damage/destroy homes, locally disrupts sewers and power lines (very dangerous). They can even damage oil (big problem since it is really hard to find and collect oil) and gas production facilities. Also, transportation is delayed as well, and this can cause a lot of problems. For example, in 1919, a rockslide near Loggers Creek (close to Sea to the Sky Highway) delayed 12 days for travel and cost $1 million for prevention structure. A landslide is like dominoes, once it is triggered, it will keep on falling in a domino effect. It is also like an earthquake, though it is less common around the world.

Landslides also impact humans by making them pay more money to repair structures, loss of property, disruption of transportation routes, loss of medical aid and loss of materials. Water was one of the main materials that was damaged and the availability, quantity and quality was affected. And even after the landslide has happened, things are still costly like engineering projects that are designed to make the land safer. Lastly, if some people wanted to stabilise their houses after a landslide has hit, it would cost them usually hundreds of thousands of dollars for 2-3 houses.

The land around mankind can get affected very easily, but so can the environment. When a landslide occurs, there is a lot of economic loss. This affects humans for then they lose oxygen, which they need to breathe. And people need to breath to survive, so that is why a lot of plants get planted after a natural disaster has occurred (especially a landslide).

Land and the environment can get damaged very easily, but so can people. Landslides can hurt us physically, and also mentally. There are people outside of the country who are affected so they donate or volunteer. Also, countries can get affected and the government will help out by paying with taxes. So, the government and everyday people can get affected as well. As for people who are in the country hit, they can end up having trauma. If someone is in a natural disaster, they can see a lot of upsetting and traumatising events (seeing someone getting trapped or killed, seeing the effect of the landslide in the moment, thinking that there is no hope etc.). Some people even see a specialist after to get over their trauma. A landslide, or any natural disaster can leave people scarred.

Some people after a landslide are actually affected by scars. It is almost certain that if a person have experience being in a landslide (and has survived) they will come end up with an injury/s. People also die when experiencing a landslide, and the end result can be devastating. This happens because most killing landslides happen on highways, when people are trapped in their car. These types of landslide normally end up being a landslide where debris flows. They are extremely dangerous to animals, humans and the world. These killer landslides are so destructive, that most of them end up leaving long term damages. The only difference it has to other landslides is the debris. It might be a bit hard to picture, so here is a diagram showing you what the debris landslide looks like (the colour equals the rubbish).

This is why people need to prevent landslides.

What do humans do to prevent landslides?

The first thing that humans have done to try and slow down the effect of landslides is the Bureau of Transportation. The first action is to create stormwater management services so they can maintain the water, mud and debris that is pushed out by landslides and onto the streets. The second action is the safe transportation system for people after a landslide. Experts are focusing on detection systems so they can give warnings to residents about potential landslides. This can save lives and prevent loss of items, which will help the country a lot. Countries like the U.S.A have decided to look at the after affects. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administrations (NOAA) have established a flash flood warning system to 8 prone countries within southern California. This system utilizes National Weather Services (NWS) and their Flash Flood Monitoring Production (FFMP) system. It recognises when flash floods and debris flows are likely to occur.

Another project is happening in the future, and it’s the Inventory Pilot Project. It designed to provide framework and tools to analyse landslide data into a listed digital format from individual states. Also, it will be able to scan reports and surveys so scientist can investigate. A website will also be created, and it will be about clearly mapped out maps and data collections (their making this so they can promote more maps and data collections on landslides). This project and the website is going to be a long term goal.

USUG Landslide Hazards Program is a team of researchers to find out landslide prone areas, how frequent they are and create landslide hazard maps. To do this, they have to monitor to area. They monitor these things: rainfall, channel stage (sensing device that measures the flow height), ground water pressure, soil temperature, soil water content, ground vibrations, and battery voltage and station temperatures. Once scientists gather this information, they try to predict when the next landslide will be. They’re also trying to learn more about the triggers, that’s why monitoring can go from 15 to 24 hours straight. Here is a picture of what one of the monitoring sites look like:

There are everyday things humans can do to prevent landslides. They can check their draining system and direct the water away from them and their neighbours’ property, they can clean their gutters and check 1 a week during autumn and winter (these seasons because 1 wind or rain storm can clog a well-functioning drain), don’t litter and plug the cities drain (e.g. leaves cause flooding so do not plug drains with leaves) and plant trees and plants to reduce erosion on steep hills (so then it will be stable).

One more thing a person can do to help is to never discharge water over the side of an unstable, steep hill (this is because the water will put pressure on the soil, then the rocks will slide, causing a result of a landslide). If they do this, there will be a big, good difference to the frequency of landslides. And if a person alter the slope, that will can reduce the risk and damage of the landslide. To do this, the person would reduce the upper part (the source area) and put it near the base. They would need to do this with professional help or else they could trigger a landslide by digging.

Landslides and earthquakes are quite similar, since landslides and earthquakes both cause destruction and damage (like any natural disaster). They affect people’s’ lives forever, and they both destroy parts of land (and with a tsunami after). There are different things about each other as well, for example earthquakes are measured in magnitude and landslides can create flash floods. These 2 systems are very alike, but they have minor differences.

Systems Analysis:

Change 1 step:

If there is a lot of plant roots in the slope, then you will need a lot of the other factors to create a landslide. Since the plants roots hold together the slope, if there was a lot of them it would be very hard to make the slope unstable. There would have to be other factors to effectively make a difference, and even then there wouldn’t be as big as an effect there would be without plants. But there are also plants that don’t help or their roots don’t make a difference. This would help a landslide, and these plants would help the landslide in the end. But if the other plants were planted, it would prevent the landslide for a bit longer.

Conclusion (system analysis):

People can affect landslides since they are a trigger (vibrations from traffic, vibrations from building sites etc.) Humans can start a landslide in everyday life, all that happens is the slope becomes more unstable, therefore starting the process. Humans can also affect it by planting plants that don’t help and pouring down water on the slope to gain weight. These are negative results, but something communities can do is plant plants that help. These plants have roots that stick the slope together, therefore making the slope more stable.

Conclusion:

Landslides are not known for being the most destructive natural disaster, though people do underestimate how much a landslide can/does affect us. Landslides are a natural disaster, and they can wreck someone’s life forever. People can get affected by trauma, loss of property, death, loss of valuable items and physically injured when facing a landslide. Humans are affected every year, and they get hurt every time. A landslide is a dangerous and destructive natural disaster, and they can affect people more than they think.

Glossary:

Frequency- how many times something has happened

Prone areas- a place that is likely to face a natural disaster

Debris- scattered pieces of rubbish and plastic

Trauma – A depressing experience

Economic – global environment

Sanitation – conditions to public health

Severity -important

Magnitude- the size of an earthquake

Authorities- the power/right to make decisions and give orders on people’s behalf

Population- how many people are in a certain place.

Utilities- Useful electronic objects (phone, gas taps etc.)

Natural disasters- a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, hurricane, volcano etc.

Something I’m proud of after the assignment is how much detail I put into it. I tried really hard to get a lot of things on the assessment criteria, and tried to make it one of the best ones I have ever done. And I believe that I did a really good job and pushed myself to get this result. I am also really proud of the way I handled my organisation in this project. I got the project done in time and I accomplished it well, even though there were things going on in my life.

Something I could have improved on is working on my tense. I haven’t been the best at using the right tense in my work, and I believe it needs to be a goal of mine. Also I could have used more comparative adjectives in my piece, and that will also be a goal for me. Lastly, I could have worked on using more simple sentences and to re-reading my work (maybe more than 3 times) for misspelt words.

This week, the defence force of the army have let a bunch of students experience the life of an army, navy or air force officer. This work experience program goes for 4 days and it gives interested students a bit of a run down on life in the Army, Air Force and Navy. The army is doing this so they can try to get more adults to choose a career in defence. Now, this article is about what this particular group of adults did, and whether they enjoying it or not;

Day 1:

This brave group of adults started off looking at life in the army (military).They first had to learn camouflage techniques, then they had to camouflage themselves. If that’s not enough for some beginners, they had to camouflage a whole jeep! Then they went to a computer simulation, and had to do some target practice with pretend guns.

Day 2:

Day 2 was the Air force, and that meant flying in a C-17 Globemaster aircraft. This was a new learning experience for everyone, so all of the students got to take pictures, check out the cockpit and just explore the plane. This plane is an Air force plane, so it’s a lot bigger, noisier and has a lot more thrust than a normal plane. But all of the students said that they loved it (especially the view), and all of them got to see 2 pilots in action. The pilots were just about to land, and they saw them planning how they’re going to land (they were also talking about the weather conditions and how it could affect them).

Day 3 and 4:

Day 3 and 4 were about the Navy, and they went on the HMAS Adelaide. The lucky students got to board the huge ship, and they were super lucky to be able to stay the night. Most students enjoyed this part of the program, stating it gave them all more insight on what the navy is truly like. Also they met really cool people and apparently the food was good, so a big thumbs up!

Overall, all of these students said this was a great experience. We would defiantly hope so, since they all had to enrol for this amazing program. This is because it was created to show young Australians that are interested in joining the military what it’s really about. Students remarked that it was all really fun to learn about the areas, and they all had good impressions. They all learnt a lot of knowledge, and hopefully these kids reaction will give us a few more people in the defence team. After all, the defence force hopes this program will get people more engaged in working at this area, they also hoping to reach their target of 62,000 employees by 2025. So good luck to the defence team and great job to all of the students!

A understanding I know have is how important we need employees in the army. A lot of people don’t go for those type of roles, but they’re very important.

2 Questions I have are:

Are there any other areas that need more employees. Which ones?

Why are these specific jobs not getting a lot of people interested in them?

Its music to my ears as I hear the clock strike 20 past 3. A really annoying bell rings, but today I don’t care. Today’s Friday, and that means tomorrow’s the start of the weekend. No school, no waking up early, it’s the life. As soon as I get home I jump onto my bed, my arms and legs spread out wide like a jellyfish. I lean over my bed to grab my laptop, and I throw up. I don’t know why or how but I knew it was just bad luck. And all I thought about the upcoming weekend was.

“Well, what a start!”

My goal for this week was to make my writing more realistic to kids. I like to write about things that can happen, but most kids might not experience it. So this week I wrote about something that actually happened to me, and also a lot of other people to. But I also made sure that people could relate to the start of the story (a kid wanting to get out of school) so if that someone hasn’t had a weekend when their sick (you must be very lucky), you at least might be able to relate to the start of this story.

This BTN video was about money and how our $5 bill is getting a makeover. Most people use money every day, but some think we should change the look of these rectangular pieces of plastic we exchange. See, the Reserve Bank of Australia believes that it’s time we change the designs of our money, starting with the $5 note.

Over the years, the rest of the notes will be presented with their new designs. In Australia, our notes are very recognisable for their designs. Starting with the bright colours, and ending with the famous Australians ($10 note is poet Banjo Patterson- Waltzing Matilda, and $20 note is Reverend John Flynn- created the Royal Flying Doctor Service). But from the 1st of September, our five dollar note will start to be replaced with the new one.

There’s a lot of changes in the new $5 bill, but there are still some similarities. The notes colour, size and famous face (Queen Elizabeth II) is going to be the same. But while saying that, a lot of new upgrades are coming as well. The first new upgrade is the window is now placed in the middle of the note, and has 2 new pictures on it (the Eastern Spinebill and the Prickly Moses Wattle).

Also, another upgrade was to up the security. This is because a lot of people want to print their own money, it’s kind of why our notes are made of plastic (1988 they decided to make our notes plastic so it’ll be harder to print real money). And in the old note, that little window has a seven pointed star you can only see when you hold it up to the light (so shopkeepers can tell the difference between a fake and a real note). Also in that little window was some micro printing (their really small words that you need a magnifying glass to read) so people could see whether the script was there or not. But our new note has a better system…

30 years later the $5 bill has seen a security check, and has been improved. Now it has things like in the bigger window, the five changes direction when you tilt it. Also, the eastern spinebill’s wings move when you tilt it to.

Now, to the last final feature that’s been added. For the first time in history of our bill system, the new notes will all have a tactile feature! A tactile helps people who are blind or can’t see really well (vision impaired) know what it is. In this case, this feature will help these people tell the difference between each note! This specific feature had a campaign for it, a boy called Connor created it. Last year he set up an online petition to have this feature on this note, and the RBA agreed!

So, it may be a bit sad that we have to say goodbye to the old $5 note, but this new one seems pretty cool!

I understand how important it is to have these features on the $5 dollar note, without them chaos would happen (fake notes, people not paying the right ones…).

I sat on the very edge of my seat, my legs shaking with excitement. It wasn’t only my legs, my whole body was shaking with excitement, and even a bit of fear. What happens if he misses the goal, especially since its penalties? Well, for one my family will go nuts. Were that family that has something they watch every Friday night, and for us it’s soccer. So, when you’re at the World Cup with you whole family, and it’s the first time any of us have been, we expect the unexpected. I glance up right when he shoots, and the whole crowd goes berserk!

Imagine practicing and practicing for something your whole life, and then it turns out you’re not allowed to do it. That’s what it’s like for refugees that want to compete in the Olympics, but that’s not the case anymore. For the first time in history, the Olympic Committee has agreed that a team of refugees can be in the running for the Games! There will be ten athletes in this team (swimmers, runners, judokas etc.), and they will all be from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia or Congo. All the athletes from this team were forced to leave their countries and became a refugee. But now, all of them will be able to compete and achieve their ultimate dream. Here’s a bit of background information on one of the athletes in this team, her name is Yusra.

This 18 year old swimmer has always had the dream of competing at the Olympics, but last year she thought her dream was over. That year she left her home (Syria) and went down the road as a refugee. A refugee is a person who has left their country because they either endangered by war, they are given bad treatment or violence has occurred in their life. These things often happen because of someone’s gender, race or beliefs. Yusra left her home for there is a war happening, but she is not the only one. Her and her sister are just 2 of the 60 million refugees out there. These 2 girls were fleeing to Greece with eighteen other refugees, and they all fled in one rubber dinghy. But catastrophe struck when the boat broke down and started to fill up with water. Beforehand, her sister had told her if something happens, don’t help anyone. But most of the people on this boat couldn’t swim, and the 2 of them decided to push it to shore. Yusra stated that it was really hard and frightening, especially since she was a swimmer and she could have ended up dying in the water.

But 3 hours later they arrived safely, and eventually got to Germany as refugees. Some of those refugees are elite athletes, and have been training all for their whole life to get to the highest level (the Olympics). But when settling, most thought that their dream was over (including Yusra). This is for the common knowledge that in the past, a refugee has never been allowed to participate in the Games. Now, there is no difference whether you are a refugee or not, it’s all about the race.

The refugee team has also got some bonuses, as well as being able to strive in the Olympics. They have received their own coaches, team uniform, officials, and even their own chef! These extras have all been paid for by the IOC, and for a very good reason. The IOC wants this team to inspire and give hope to other refugees, as well as drawing attention to this issue that millions of people are facing. This team has been training hard for months, and they believe their up for the challenge, no matter where they end up placing.

And I think the IOC’s idea is working, since more and more refugees are starting to accomplish their dreams. The team’s heard a lot of stories from refugees, stating how they couldn’t do it or wouldn’t. But after seeing the refugee team in action, all of the stories came back saying that they want to be like them and should have tried harder. But what really inspired refugees was their advice, them saying you can and you just want to try from all your heart really means a lot to everyone.

I understand how much pressure it is to compete in the Olympics. Athletes do it for they love sport, but to have such an important role while being there would build a lot of pressure.

A question I have is:

How did this team end up competing, and how many supporters did they have?

I was edging towards the back of the enclosure, my heart betting 200 miles per second. I’m surprised I’m still alive, and it’s extraordinary how it haven’t heard me yet. I reckon I’ve crunched about 12 leaves, all making a crackling noise. The worst ones are the black leaves, they leave a mark underneath your shoe. I poked at the wired fence, and questioned how fast I could climb it. I wanted to scream for mum with all my might, but it would hear me. I hear a crunch and I turn around, and I’m face to face with the flamingo. Dammit, I’m dead.

I jogged along the coastline and waved to a few people, so far no one’s noticed. They all smile at me and wave back, no one’s rude enough to look into my pocket. Even though I’m a teenager, they still give me that respect. But that’s pretty much the only respect I’ll get. Which is why, I can’t wait to be an adult. I glance around to check no one’s here, and sit on the sand right next to the water. I quickly drop it in, not sure exactly what it’ll do. And as I stared into the water, it began to turn green.